Bird Nest Update: Father’s Day for a Daddy Bird

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Time for an update on the bird family that is living in the light fixture on our front porch!

Last week (around June 14) I took a peek into the nest and the chicks were certainly bigger and were starting to sprout feathers:

Baby birds with feathers starting to grow!

I also saw something I find super interesting: The father bird came back to the nest! Admittedly I don’t know much about birds (but I’m learning!) and I assumed just the mother bird looked after the chicks. But the father came back and saw me and started chirping at me. Was he telling me off in his own way?

The father bird perched on our string of Christmas lights near the nest. (I guess it’s a good thing we were too lazy to take down the lights so that Mom & Dad bird have a place to stand guard…)

Watching both the Momma and Daddy bird go to and from the nest, I’ve been able to get a better look at them, and I’m pretty certain they are house finches. Super Interesting Observation #2: I’ve seen the Daddy bird feed the chicks! He’s a real hands-on dad.

Now, another week later, I looked through our front window at the nest and I saw baby bird faces! They’ve grown so big. So far I’ve been able to count four chicks. There were originally five eggs so I guess one of them unfortunately didn’t make it.

Three little opened beaks waiting for their next meal.
A close-up of one of the sweet chicky-faces.
A view of the nest from above. The chicks certainly look more like birds now.

It is amazing how much the chicks have grown in just two weeks. Mom and Dad keep going back and forth, feeding the little mouths.

Happy Father’s Day, Daddy Bird! What a sweet little family you have. Thank you for letting me watch and learn.

Mom and Dad house finch keeping watch on their chicks. Dad is on the left, Mom is on the right.